Flucelvax 2015-2016 News

FRIDAY, March 16, 2018 – As winter nears its end so too does a tough flu season, with new data showing a decline in doctor visits and less severe strains of influenza beginning to dominate. But hospitalizations for the flu remained a problem, and there have been additional pediatric deaths. For the fifth week in a row, there was a decrease in the number of doctor visits for flu-like illness, the ...

FRIDAY, March 9, 2018 – A brutal flu season looks to be on the wane in the United States, with the latest government data showing that doctor visits are still dropping and less severe strains of the flu are starting to dominate. But hospitalizations for the flu are still rising, as are pediatric deaths. For the fourth week in a row, there was a decrease in the number of doctor visits for ...

FRIDAY, March 2, 2018 – The brutal flu season continues to ease its grip on the United States, with the latest government data showing that doctor visits are still dropping and less severe strains of the flu are starting to account for more infections. But hospitalizations for flu are still rising, as are pediatric deaths. For the third week in a row, there was a decrease in the number of doctor ...

March 2, 2018 – As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from health fraud, the agency is reminding consumers to be wary of unapproved products claiming to prevent, treat or cure influenza, or flu. This year’s severe flu season raises new concerns about the potential for consumers to be lured into buying unproven flu treatments, and even worse, buy ...

-- This year's flu season is shaping up to be the worst in nearly a decade, experts say. The flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself. If you do develop symptoms including high fever, severe body aches, headache, extreme fatigue, sore throat, cough, runny nose, vomiting or diarrhea, you probably have the flu, the American Red Cross says. Most cases don't require a visit to the emergency ...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2018 – If you're a heart failure patient, new research suggests you would be wise to get a flu shot every year. After reviewing six studies that included more than 78,000 heart failure patients in the United States, Asia and Europe, researchers found that an annual flu vaccine reduced patients' risk of death by 50 percent during the flu season and by 20 percent during the ...

TUESDAY, Feb. 27, 2018 – If you're unlucky enough to come down with the flu, you can blame your own body for your fever, cough, muscle aches and head-to-toe distress, experts say. Most of influenza's misery is caused by the human body itself, or more precisely the immune system's response to the virus. "Many of the things that feel bad are the body's attempts to get rid of the pathogen that's ...

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2018 – With a nasty flu season still raging, it didn't help that this year's influenza vaccine was just 25 percent effective against H3N2, the dominant strain. So the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is bent on making sure next year's flu shot works better, agency commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement released Monday. "We are taking a number of actions to better ...

FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2018 – Even though it's the end of February, it's still not too late to get a flu shot, doctors say. This flu season is one of the worst seen in the United States in years. Flu-linked hospitalizations were still rising earlier this month, and 84 children have died from flu complications so far, according to government health officials. "There's still time to get the flu shot. ...

THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2018 – Doctors can offer patients a new version of the nasal spray flu vaccine FluMist next winter, a U.S. government advisory panel says. Two years ago, the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices withdrew its recommendation for FluMist after research found that it was largely ineffective. But on Wednesday, the panel voted 12-2 to recommend FluMist as an option for the ...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21, 2018 – The flu virus – even if it doesn't cause symptoms – can lead to serious complications after heart surgery, a new study by Dutch researchers suggests. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a potentially deadly infection in which fluid fills the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe, appears more common among heart surgery patients during flu season, the ...

TUESDAY, Feb. 20, 2018 – There's some good news for expecting moms who are trying to weather a brutal flu season – a new study shows that getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy causes no harm to newborns. Researchers reviewed records on more than 400,000 infants born between 2004 and 2014, and found no increased risk of infant hospitalization or death following maternal inoculation during ...

FRIDAY, Feb. 16, 2018 – While this flu season is still one of the worst seen in years, the first signs that infection rates are starting to level off were reported by U.S. health officials on Friday. As of Feb. 10, a total of 43 states continued to experience widespread flu activity, down from 48 the week before, according to the latest surveillance report from the U.S. Centers for Disease ...

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 – Flu continues to ravage the United States in one of the worst flu seasons in recent years. And the ineffectiveness of this year's flu vaccine is partly to blame. According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccine is only 25 percent effective against H3N2 influenza, which is causing most flu cases this year. Among children 6 ...

MONDAY, Feb. 12, 2018 – As a particularly nasty flu season rages across the United States, scientists have found a powerful new disinfectant that makes "light" work of the virus. Researchers say a certain spectrum of ultraviolet light – called far-UVC – easily kills airborne flu viruses while posing no risk to people. It could offer a new, inexpensive way to eliminate airborne flu viruses in ...